Alexandra Ghara is the Vice President for Programs, Operations and DEI at the Robertson Foundation for Government (RFG), where she oversees the administration of the Robertson Fellowship Program, directs grantmaking, programming and events, stakeholder relations, and initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Prior to her current role, Ghara served as the RFG Program Director in which she led the planning and implementation of professional development activities, alumni relations, and foundation events, including activities designed to support current fellows in their career development and to foster alumni engagement in building a network of government service leaders.

Ghara has fifteen years of experience in program management, curriculum and training development, research design, grant administration, collaborative partnerships, and DEI initiatives. Before joining RFG in 2014, she was a program manager and linguist at CIBT, a global provider of business and travel visa support services. She worked in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach at Louisiana State University developing and executing campus-wide and community-based initiatives aimed at promoting civic engagement, increasing cultural competency, and fostering relationships between campus and local community groups, activists, schools, and interfaith networks. She also worked in the office for human resources at the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Ghara received a Bachelor of Arts in African & African American Studies and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Louisiana State University. She spent six years as a research and teaching assistant in the Political Science and AAAS departments at LSU. Her research focused on the use of multidimensional measures of African American racial identity and its effects on political attitudes and policy preferences. She also explored the political effects of unconscious bias using implicit measures. Ghara is also a Certified Professional in Management designated by the American Management Association (AMA-CPM).

Sharon Swabb is the Chief Program Officer for Fellowships and Career Development at the Robertson Foundation for Government (RFG). Prior to her work at RFG, Mrs. Swabb was a Career Coach at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where she provided guidance to graduate students and alumni on the strategic and successful achievement of their professional goals.

Mrs. Swabb has a background in public service, having served as an Associate Director in the White House Presidential Personnel Office, where she contributed to the recruitment, placement, and retention of political appointees at national security agencies. From 2014 to 2016, she was a Press Assistant in the Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Before her work in the Federal Government, Mrs. Swabb was a Research Fellow at GovLoop and served as a Program Assistant for the Washington, D.C. semester programs of the University of Georgia (UGA) and New York University (NYU). From 2013 to 2015, she volunteered as a staff member for the group, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). Mrs. Swabb is a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI)® Certified Practitioner and a speaker of Spanish, who has traveled extensively throughout Latin America. She earned a Master’s in Pacific International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego, where she also was a recipient of the Robertson Foundation for Government (RFG) Fellowship. Originally from the great State of Georgia, Mrs. Swabb also holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in International Affairs and Spanish from the University of Georgia.